THE GRAVEYARD BOOK By Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages:320
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This week I read the highly acclaimed Newberry award-winning, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman is known for several popular young adult books, including Coraline, which was adapted into a movie. The Graveyard Book tells the story of a young boy, Nobody Owens. Nobody, or “Bod” as he is affectionately called, is a human boy that lives in a graveyard and is raised by ghosts. Nobody was orphaned as a toddler when the evil “The man Jack” murders his entire family. The ghosts discovered the child and decided to raise and protect him.

Although the murdering of an entire family may sound like a dark way to begin a children’s book, I think Gaiman did a good job of relating this in a way that wouldn’t be too traumatizing to youngsters. In The Graveyard Book Gaiman develops a charming world filled with ghosts, ghouls, magic, and an evil secret society. My only real issue with this book is that it was too short and Gaiman didn’t make it into a series.

I felt like the book ended with some weak explanations and left some questions unanswered. This was the only reason I have it a 4. The book was superbly written, and reminding me a bit of Roald Dahl. The Graveyard Book is the very definition of a page-turner, but it ends almost as quickly as it begins.